Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey Visits THE BULLPEN

Jim McGreevey, the 52nd Governor of New Jersey, made a special appearance at the Saturday, June 28th, evening performance of Joe Assadourian's The Bullpen. A service volunteer to former prisoners seeking rehabilitation with the Exodus Transitional Community, McGreevey stopped for a photo with Playwright/Actor Joe Assadourian and Fortune Society Founder David Rothenberg.

Joe Assadourian opened his new one-man comedy The Bullpen Off-Broadway in June at The Playroom Theater. Released from Otisville Correctional Institution in October of 2013 after serving 12 of his 25 year sentence for attempted murder, Assadourian discovered his theatrical ability while reluctantly participating in a workshop behind bars lead by Off-Broadway solo-show Actor/Director Richard Hoehler. The duo has developed the work now for over two years, both inside and outside the state prison system, and it premieres Off-Broadway this summer.

Beginning July 7th, The Bullpen will play regularly on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm, with Saturday Matinees at 3:00pm. Tickets, which are $20, are on sale now for performances through August 30th.

While in prison, Joe Assadourian (Writer/Performer), who had never before even seen a play, began creating an 8-minute scene that incorporated characters he had met during his incarceration. The Bullpen evolved from that short sketch into a full-length production which premiered at Otisville Correction Facility; upon his release from prison, Assadourian also performed at the Fortune Academy (The Castle) - a residence in NYC for formerly incarcerated men and women. Assadourian received the 1st Place PEN Prison Writing Award for his play, Heaven and a 2nd Place PEN Award for Joey Shakespeare, co-written with Brandon Cochrane, which was featured at the New Work Now reading series at The Public Theater and subsequently presented by The Collective Theatre in Miami. He is also the author of a full-length play, Deliberation, a modern recounting of the Armenian Holocaust. As an actor, Joe has appeared in Race by David Mamet, Tuff Love (including works by Sam Shepard and John Patrick Shanley) and Inside Out, an original theatre piece co-written with the inmates at Otisville Correctional Institution.